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Murphy Brown (TV series)
Murphy Brown is an American sitcom which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for nine seasons and total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine. The first two seasons of the show received favorable reviews from critics. The second season received universal acclaim with a Metacritic rating of 100 out of 100 based on 5 reviews. It is the only series to receive a score of 100 on the website. Plot The early season The first season saw Murphy relearning her job without the use of two crutches—alcohol and cigarettes. In the pilot episode, she complained the only vice she had left herself was chewing yellow number-two pencils. It also set up the series-long running gag of Murphy's battles with the off-beat and sometimes downright bizarre characters that were sent by Personnel to act as her secretary, none of whom ever last for more than an episode, save two; one played by Paul Reubens. Action was divided between the FYI suite of offices and Murphy's Georgetown townhouse. Reality often blended with fiction with the many cameos of then-current media and political personalities. The most prominent was when Murphy Brown was asked to guest star as herself in the pilot of a sitcom entitled Kelly Green, about a female investigative journalist. Life imitated art when, after a less-than stellar performance, Murphy was berated by television journalist Connie Chung (herself in a Murphy Brown cameo appearance) for crossing the line and compromising her credibility. Subsequent seasons saw the emergence of story arcs involving network politics with Gene Kinsella, Frank and Murphy's rivalry and Eldin's ongoing infatuation with Corky. A standout event was Miss Sherwood's marriage to Louisiana lawyer Will Forrest. During the brief engagement, a horrified Corky comes to the realization that she will now be "Corky Sherwood-Forrest". In the wedding episode, maid-of-honor Murphy, dressed as an antebellum belle in a hoop-skirted nightmare of a bridemaid's dress, rages her way through the entire affair while thwarting the press's attempts to photograph the nuptials (mirroring the Sean Penn/Madonna wedding a few years earlier). Cast Main * Candice Bergen as Murphy Brown * Faith Ford as Corky Sherwood (also Forrest, Silverberg) * Pat Corley as Phil * Charles Kimbrough as Jim Dial * Robert Pastorelli as Eldin Bernecky * Joe Regalbuto as Frank Fontana * Grant Shaud as Miles Silverberg * Lily Tomlin as Kay Carter-Shepley Recurring * Jay Thomas as Jerry Gold * John Hostetter as John * Ritch Brinkley played Carl Wishnitsk * Janet Carroll as Doris Dial * Colleen Dewhurst as Avery Brown Episodes Production The program was well known for stories inspired by current events and its political satire. It achieved a high level of cultural notoriety in the 1992 presidential campaign when Dan Quayle mentioned the show in a campaign speech, afterwards known as the "Murphy Brown speech". The show began in the Monday 9/8 p.m. timeslot and remained there until its final season when it was moved to Wednesday at 8:30/7:30 p.m. The series finale aired in its original Monday timeslot. The show did not have a regular opening theme song, but would instead play a different classic Motown song over the opening credits each week. Fictional personal FYI FYI (For Your Information) is a fictional news broadcast anchored by Jim Dial and Murphy Brown. Regular segments include political interviews conducted by Brown, commentaries offered by Dial, celebrity or "fluff" news stories delivered by Corky Sherwood, and field investigations undertaken by Frank Fontana. The show was originally anchored by Dial, Brown, Fontana, and Stuart Best. Best offered a segment called "All's I Know", though he departed after six episodes. During Brown's temporary absence in 1986 she was replaced by Sherwood, who was later retained full-time. Temporary anchors throughout the series include Miller Redfield, who replaced Jim Dial during his temporary departure in 1995, Jerry Gold, and Peter Hunt. Front & Center Front & Center with Murphy Brown and Miller Redfield is a fictional panel show featuring critical commentary offered by FYI co-anchor Murphy Brown and former FYI correspondent Miller Redfield. Brown was initially contracted to work alongside Walter Cronkite, who dropped out pre-production. The series ran from 1995-1996. Reception DVD Release Warner Home Video released the first season of Murphy Brown on DVD in Region 1 on February 8, 2005. As of 2017 this series doesn't have a future release planned. See also * Seinfeld (similar to episode "The Keys") External links * Murphy Brown on Wikipedia * Murphy Brown on Facebook Category:TV series